Ganeshe Temple

This data was last updated on 2 July 2018.

Address: 48 Edison Street, Dorchester, MA
Phone: 617-298-7309

History: The Ganeshe Temple, situated in a white two-story home, is simple and plain, yet the story of the community who founded the small temple is complex and vibrant. Established in 1992, it serves as a religious center for Hindus from the Caribbean: most members are immigrants from the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, with a smaller number from the South American countries of Guyana and Suriname. Indians of diverse backgrounds began migrating to the Caribbean in the mid-1800s to work on sugar plantations, and many settled there as wage workers. Over time, the Indian community established themselves economically, politically, and religiously: temples were built, and a group of priests began serving the Hindu community. By the mid-1900s the oil industry brought new wealth and mobility to this community; with the passage of the 1965 immigration act and the oil boom of the 1970s, a small number of Caribbean Indians began migrating to the United States. In Boston, beginning in the early 1970s, a community of primarily Trinidadian Hindus gathered in private homes. Connections were soon formed among Hindus from Guyana and Suriname, as well as larger communities from India. By the late 1980s, a small group decided to form a more permanent religious society in Boston under the leadership of a part-time priest, Pandit Dube. In 1989, the community began meeting in a garage on Dorchester Avenue, and within a year the group established themselves as a religious non-profit organization. The house on Edson Street was purchased in 1992, and that summer, the community renovated the building to become a temple.

Description: The temple was named in honor of Lord Ganesh, the god of auspicious beginnings and the remover of obstacles, as this would be the first temple of its kind in Boston. In October of 1992, the first religious ceremony was observed at the temple with an elaborate Divali celebration. Today, the community meets monthly for puja at the temple, and gathers for major religious holidays. For a community that maintains multiple identities -- Indian, Hindu, Trinidadian -- the next generation raises new concerns and complexities. But the community looks to the future with confidence: the Pandit's teenage son is now in training to become a priest, and the temple recently purchased a tract of land next door, should there be an occasion for future expansion.

Activities and Schedule: Meetings Second Sunday of each month 9:00 A.M.